With a Dash of Honey
by ZagZig
Summary: An interruption during Naruto's Crowning of Hokage Ceremony has an unexpected ending.  NaruHina Smugness


**With a Dash of Honey**

**Naruto and Hinata**

**Love Story #1**

Outside her bedroom window, she could see the Hokage Mountain being lit under the Sun. It casted a small shadow off the noses of the Hokages', but she loved its beauty it gave to Konoha.

She never thought she'd see this day—from her bedroom window. She had a choice: either congratulate him face-to-face, or congratulate him silently from afar. Both had its benefits and it's let downs. If she let him know how happy she was for him face-to-face, she would probably faint in the middle of her sentence. This would make her embarrass herself in front of the many villagers surrounding him. If she congratulated him silently, then she would never experience the joy of ever telling him in person. For her, this day was so complicated yet special on all levels. Staring at the Hokage Mountain wasn't going to fix her troubles, or make up her mind. Stepping away from the window, she turned to dig into her closet to find something to wear to head out to Naruto's Crowning of Hokage Ceremony.

Meanwhile, that certain blonde-haired ninja had just stepped out of his apartment, a very special flamed-robe over his orange jumpsuit. His whiskered face was lit with the biggest smile he had ever harbored since the day he was born. He knew he was probably over-exaggerating, but it was nice to be caught up in a moment like this. Today was the day were his dream would come true; when all his wishes would be answered. The butterflies flying in his stomach made him smile even more, and the sight of the day made him take a longer walk to bask in its pleasure. He couldn't miss out on anything today; he _wouldn't_ miss out on anything.

"Naruto?" Sakura's voice made him stop smelling the red rose he had in his hand, turning to see the pink-haired kunouchi. She flattered her body with a pink and white kimono. She smiled at Naruto's state before grabbing the red rose and laying it on top of the bush filled with other roses.

"Sakura, I didn't mean to pick it off, I just—" he was silenced by a sudden hug from Sakura, telling him that picking off the rose was fine.

"Lets just head to your ceremony," Sakura said, parting from the hug, "People are waiting for your arrival—the whole village."

"The whole village..." Naruto repeated to himself, his eagerness pumping through his veins as he grabbed his best friend's hand, and ran towards the shouts and cheers of the villagers.

Hinata snuck out of the Hyuuga Mansion, careful not to make any loud noises that would cause the guards to suspect an intruder. Once in front of the main gate, she pushed it open slowly, slipping right through. Closing it shut behind her, she inhaled sharply as she took to the roofs on her way to the ceremony. The fast beating of her heart made her cheeks burn with a red rose blush. The excitement of being able to see Naruto, on this big day, exaggerated her color. Her mind wandered off into memories of the moments they spent together, to the moment of when she bravely risked her life for him. She would never forget those words that escaped her lips or his response to them, neither. Since then, she wasn't afraid of talking to him as she was before; she wasn't anxious of being next to him at Ichiraku's anymore. Best of all, she wasn't hesitant on making up her mind when it came to seeing him. Today, she was going to make it the best day of her life as well.

"-And it was his bravery, his determination, his _dream_ that made us able to stand where we stand today, happy as a whole knew Hidden Leaf Village," Tsunade's sincere words made some cry tears of joy, and tears of forgiveness for ever mistreating the young boy who saved their lives and was now a young man, "And as a whole new Hidden Leaf Village, we must start anew… Beginning with a new Hokage!"

Hinata heard the villagers cheer loudly, making it unable for her to hear what Tsunade had to say. She was so close to the ceremony's location, just a little more jumping to go, and she would be part of the crowd. Everything was going well, until she landed on a weak roof and went tumbling down inside the home below.

"That Hokage shall be,"

Dust, dirt, debris—she was a mess. It covered her from head to toe. She couldn't believe it. She was totally filthy, and too far away from home to shower, change, and make it in time before the ceremony finished. She had broken through a weak roof of an abandoned, two level home. The stairs slapped her legs, and the walls punched her sides. Worst of all, no one was around to hear her accident. Burrying her head in her hands, Hinata sobbed for the guilt of knowing she wouldn't make it to Naruto's celebration, and for the pain that grasped her ankles.

He saw new faces amongst the crowd, along with cherished faces. Lee, Ino, Guy, Sakura, Chouji, Gaara, Temari, Kankuro, Neji, Tenten, and possibly all the rookie nine; just knowing that those that meant most to him were standing in the crowd cheering him on gave him all the confidence that helped him stand in front of the whole village. Everyone smiled along with him, until suddenly, his smile began to descend slowly to a frown. Something was not _right_. No, it wasn't something, it was _someone_. Naruto counted everyone he knew, naming them all to make sure he didn't miss a certain someone. He felt his throat go dry when he realized that he didn't skip anyone; _she _just wasn't there.

"Tsunade, wait!" Naruto held up his hand, stopping Tsunade from crowning him Hokage. The crowd stopped cheering, and they all went silent. Sakura's brows furrowed in confusion. She did not understand why Naruto would want Tsunade to stop when he was so close to being Hokage. Then, one simple question slipped through Naruto's lips, "Where's Hinata?"

Hinata staggered backwards as she fell to the ground, filthy smoke flying in the air from the harsh impact. She winced from sharp pain at her _third_ try of trying to stand up. It was no use, her ankles were probably sprained, leaving her unable to support her weight. Her tears had made the dust around her cheeks stick to her skin. Grabbing on to a nearby pipe, she lifted herself up once more, supporting herself by holding on to it. Hinata coughed, taking one step, yelping when the pain around her ankle started rising. The door that lead outside was too far away from her, and the pipe didn't extend even close to it.

"Naruto..." she whispered, hoping that somehow he would hear her, "Please help..."

Lee had ran around Konoha twice before anyone even went around it once, noting to Naruto that she wasn't anywhere. He asked Lee to search again, and to slow down a bit this time. Lee nodded before he left to go search again. Sakura, Ino, and Tenten had came to him with the same information. Naruto had been looking for Hinata all over as well, and he couldn't find her, neither. His last resort was the Hyuuga Mansion, where he would have to ask Hisashi himself; he wasn't prepared for that. Not giving up, Naruto took to the roofs, hoping that he would get a better view from below in order to help find her. After all, he wouldn't want to be named Hokage without her being in his memory.

"Ah..." Hinata groaned in ache with each step as she tried to reach the door. Once at the edge of the pipe, she was in arms reach of the door. All she was to do was reach out the farthest she could, and grab hold of the doorknob. It was easier said than done.

Naruto came across a huge hole in one of the rooftops, sticking his head inside to see dirt and dust. He ignored it until he heard a small cry inside. Looking inside the hole again, he saw nothing. But before he turned back around, he called out to make sure no one was inside.

"Hello? Anyone in here?"

Hinata's lavender eyes widened at the sound of his voice. Had he really heard her? Either way, she was happy he had found her. If he was here, did that mean the ceremony was over? Had she missed it?

"Naruto...!" she called out, her voice hoarse. She coughed from the dust in the air.

"Hinata, is that _you_?"

"Na...Naruto!" Hinata called out again, this time louder.

Naruto heard his name, carefully climbing down the hole, into the abandoned home. Inside, he saw Hinata grasping tightly to a pipe, supporting herself. He ran quickly towards her, placing his hand underneath her knees and one behind her back. Picking her up bridal style, he poofed himself to his apartment where he gently laid her on his sofa. Originally, he planned to take her with him to finish the ceremony, but right now, she needed to be taken care of, quickly. He didn't know any sort of medical procedures but he was going to try to help.

"Hinata, are you okay?" he grabbed a damp cloth, wipping away the dirt from her face.

She groaned from the pain that still stung in her ankles, "My ankles... I think I sprained them when I fell."

Naruto went pale, not knowing how to treat sprained ankles. Despite him not knowing how, he began to take off her clothes to clean the rest of her body, leaving her in her undergarments. Hinata begun to doze off, and slowly fell into a deep sleep. Naruto had tried remembering what Sakura would do when he had a sprained ankle, and begun to do the same to Hinata. By the time he was done bandaging her up, she had fallen asleep.

"I guess me being Hokage will have to wait," he chuckled, looking at Hinata's peacful face as she slept. He brushed away her bangs fro her face, then he got up. He grabbed a pillow with a blanket, laying it on the ground next to her as he laid down and fell asleep as well.

Tsunade had sent everyone home, reassuring them that everything was fine and that the ceremony would be finished the next morning. Sakura had stayed with Tsunade in her soon to be "old" office after waiting to see if Naruto would show up. When he didn't, Sakura had smiled and winked at Tsunade, letting her know that she knew exactly why Naruto didn't show up. Her gesture earned her a a full hour lecture.

Hinata stirred on the couch, squezzing the warm hand she felt in hers. Her hand fit perfectly in his, and she breathed out dreamily. When she realized that it was a _man's_ hand she was massaging, she immediately swatted the hand away, slapping it as it tried gripping her's again.

"Ah! Get away!" she yelled, noticing that she was only in her breast-wrapping, fish net, and shorts on a couch. When the owner of the hand popped his head up from the floor, she fainted before he could explain.


End file.
